The Daintree Inn, Mossman’s largest and most prominent hotel, has been entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.

Announcing the listing, Environment and Heritage Protection Minister Andrew Powell said the Daintree Inn, had a rich history of hosting tourists and dignitaries visiting the sugar town since 1934.

“Formerly known as the Exchange Hotel, the Daintree Inn, on the corner of front and Mill Streets, was built after a cyclone in 1934 damaged its predecessor – the third time it had been hit by a cyclone,” Mr Powell said.

“The new timber hotel was designed and built for the tourist clientele, which had become a booming market with the growth of the North Queensland sugar industry during the 1920s and 1930s.

“The Daintree Inn showed a pattern of hotel building, rebuilding and modification during the 1930s, undertaken with Queensland Government support, to encourage tourism,” Mr Powell said.

Queensland Heritage Council Chair, Professor Peter Coaldrake, said the Daintree Inn was a good regional example of a timber interwar hotel that showed the main characteristics of its type.

“The former Exchange Hotel still has many of its original features,” Professor Coaldrake said.

“A walk through this historic building allows you to imagine quite clearly what it would have been like to be a guest there in its heydays of the 1930s.

“The hotel retains its lounge and coffee room space – formerly a ballroom – and evidence of its bars, parlours and retail facilities on the ground floor, and the first floor still has largely intact bedrooms.

“The Exchange Hotel was an important part of Mossman’s social life. It was the venue for dances, Melbourne Cup parties, weddings, World War II fundraising events and Rotary Club meetings and hosted a variety of guests,” Professor Coaldrake said.

Professor Coaldrake said the Exchange Hotel was part of a pattern of greater hotel luxury in the 1930s and hotel designs of the time in Queensland used modern styles such as Spanish Mission,  
Functionalist and Art Deco, stood on corners and featured rounded facades, and offered a higher standard of comfort.

“It was prestigious enough to be used for civic dinners for the Minister for Public Works, HA Bruce, and for the Governor General Lord Gowrie and Lady Gowrie, in July 1936.

“A civic reception was held there for the Premier, W Forgan Smith, in October 1937 and a civic luncheon for Queensland Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson and Lady Wilson, in June 1939.”

The hotel also provided accommodation for visiting doctors, bankers, public servants, business people and graziers.

Professor Coaldrake said the former Exchange Hotel capitalised on the far north Queensland tourist trade, which had been increasing since the 1880s.

“During the 19th century, the region was seen as a romantic, exotic and tropical destination, with visitors interested in the natural beauties of the area, such as landscapes, waterfalls, the Chillagoe Caves, Innot Springs, Herberton and Kuranda.”  

“We are pleased this iconic and important landmark of Mossman is now heritage listed, so that it can continue to be protected and appreciated for generations to come,” Professor Coaldrake said.

The Queensland Heritage Council is the State’s independent advisor on heritage matters and determines what places are entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.

Places entered in the Heritage Register are considered of importance to Queensland’s history and are protected under heritage legislation.